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Service members participating in the Transition Assistance Program would be required to attend sessions on Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits under a bill approved Thursday by a House subcommittee. The Pentagon opposes the bill.

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President Barack Obama has signed the USA Freedom Act, allowing intelligence officials to restart a curtailed version of their surveillance programs. The move was seen as a major transition away from the post-9/11 intelligence era, and a vindication of the NSA leaks perpetrated by Edward Snowden. "This is the most important surveillance reform bill since 1978, and its passage is an indication that Americans are no longer willing to give the intelligence agencies a blank check," says Jameel Jaffer of the ACLU.

Legislation to improve mental health services for troops and veterans has been introduced in the Senate. The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans bill, named for a former Marine who committed suicide after having sought treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, would require an independent review of Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs suicide-prevention programs and would establish a website with information on mental health services.

A doctor who analyzed the possible link between Iraq veterans' lung problems and dust produced by burn pits is expected to discuss his findings this week before a Pentagon subcommittee. The doctor has said that 14% of the Iraq veterans he has studied have lung problems.

If President Barack Obama signs into law the defense authorization bill recently passed by Congress, defense firms would be required to disclose to the Pentagon any breaches of military data stored on their networks. Also, contractors would receive information from the Pentagon on imminent cyberthreats.